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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26954725">although i was burning you're the only light</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thereisasong18/pseuds/thereisasong18'>thereisasong18</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender, Avatar: The Rise of Kyoshi, Avatar: The Shadow of Kyoshi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, Gen, Hostage Situations, I wanted to try a plot heavy fic, Kyoshi to The Rescue, Plot, Post-Canon, Rangi is a badass, but it isn't enough, idk - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:47:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,137</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26954725</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thereisasong18/pseuds/thereisasong18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A simple scouting mission for Rangi goes horribly, horribly wrong.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kyoshi/Rangi (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>100</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. and my body was bruised and i was set alight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I've done more fluff and angst than plot fics so I figured I'd try one, but don't worry. I don't like it as much as fluff and angst so in future that'll be the majority of my work. Next chapter will be Kyoshi POV though so lots of angst there! </p><p>Once again beta'd by the bestest hegaveallhecouldgiveher...</p><p>Title from Only if For a Night by Florence and the Machine.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rangi crouched in the grass, peering down at the bandit encampment below her. In the years since Kyoshi’s establishment as Avatar, plenty of people had attempted to circumvent her authority and establish themselves as criminals, far from her watchful eyes. What they tended to forget was that Kyoshi was not the sole person watching over the nations. Since her youth, Rangi had been well trained in the Fire Nation Academy how to keep a low profile in order to better serve as a bodyguard. Few people knew of Rangi’s true purpose when it came to Kyoshi, usually assuming that she was simply a companion in the tradition of so many Avatars in the past. Rangi always smirked when she overheard herself being referred to as an Avatar companion. If only they knew just how close of a companion she truly was.</p><p>Reports had reached Yokoya some weeks before of a new group of outlaws, unaffiliated with any known <em>daofei</em> gangs, raiding a group of villages deep in the Earth Kingdom who had few Earthbenders to protect them. Kyoshi hadn’t paid too close attention for a few days, her duties as the world’s protector keeping her stretched thin. However, when Jinpa had received a letter begging Kyoshi personally to intervene, she had decided something had to be done. Just as she and Rangi had set out for the villages, an urgent messenger hawk had arrived with reports of an angry spirit attacking ships near the South Pole. Kyoshi had wanted to postpone the mission to the Earth Kingdom completely, but Rangi had reminded her of the letter they had received. It had a small child’s handwriting, pleading for the Avatar to come help her family. Rangi’s heart had gone out to the girl’s plight. The bandits had taken her mother, holding them for ransom that the girl’s father couldn’t afford to pay. The father had enclosed a more informative note with the girl’s. The bandits had kidnapped many people throughout the cluster of villages, stealing the precious harvest from the markets as they went. Rangi’s inner fire had sparked, and she had convinced Kyoshi to let her go scout the area while Kyoshi dealt with the spirit in the South Pole. As much as she hated to let Kyoshi leave her sight, Rangi knew that Jinpa was better suited to help her with the spiritual side of Avatar duties, while Rangi helped with the physical side.</p><p>She had left Yokoya three days ago. Kyoshi had watched her leave with a frown on her face that even Rangi’s goodbye kiss hadn’t managed to wipe away. She reassured her giant girl one last time, reminding her that she was perfectly capable of handling herself on a simple scouting mission. Kyoshi had grudgingly agreed, but only reluctantly, promising to join her as soon as possible. In return, Rangi had promised to be careful, and to not let anyone know that she was affiliated with the Avatar. Both of them remembered Jianzhu and how he had attempted to get at Kyoshi through Rangi just a few years ago. Neither of them wished to repeat the experience. So she had left dressed in the green and brown of the Earth Kingdom, missing the beautiful crimson and gold of her normal clothing, but knowing the necessity of the disguise.  </p><p>Once Rangi had reached the Earth Kingdom villages, it hadn’t taken her long to find the new bandit group. They had grown more arrogant with each day that Kyoshi hadn’t arrived to stop them, and it had only taken Rangi two days of staying in the villages to discover where the bandits made their camp. Casual inquiries at the village most recently attacked led her to the family from which the latest victim had been taken. The woman had been kidnapped right in front of her family, so Rangi was able to get a good idea of what the attackers had looked like. From there, she had simply had to wait in the market until a man fitting the description had arrived to mark the next target. As much as it hurt her to watch, she waited as the man and two others upended a cabbage stand, the vegetables precious for the upcoming winter, kicking the merchant to the side and stealing as many as they could carry. They had left the village quickly, but Rangi had long honed her exceptional tracking skills and followed them directly back to their encampment, where she scoped out as much as she could. Her anger grew with each moment she spied on the bandit group.</p><p>Rangi was familiar with <em>daofei</em> customs. The bandits she had rubbed shoulders with in her Flying Opera Company days, however, had a longstanding code of honor. She had even grown to respect it. The bandits she was currently watching seemed to have no such code. They drank copiously, fought each other often, and worst of all, mistreated their prisoners as much as they could. They had the men and women, <em>mostly women</em>, Rangi noted, chained together in one area. They had placed food and drink just out of reach of the captives, laughing at their desperate clawing for the precious meat and water. Every so often, a bandit would walk over and sit near the food, eating his fill right in front of the starving people, ignoring their cries for mercy. Rangi pinned down the leader of the group quickly enough. A small man, Rangi hadn’t figured out why he was in charge until she saw him Earthbend a jut of rock from the ground through a man’s leg for daring to spit at him. None of the other men could Earthbend, as far as she could tell. <em>Power is everything</em>, she thought to herself grimly. No matter. Kyoshi could sort him out quickly enough when she got here. Even the strongest Earthbender in the world would be a poor match for her Avatar.</p><p>It was the second day from her discovery of the bandit camp when things started to go wrong. She had trekked back to the village the night before to wait for Kyoshi, frustrated to have to leave the prisoners but knowing by herself she couldn’t take on the entire bandit group. Even though only one of them could bend, Rangi knew that each man was skilled at fighting and at weapons use. One Firebender, even with her training, wouldn’t be enough to defeat them. After all, Kyoshi wouldn’t take long to join her. Under Yang-chen’s tutelage, Kyoshi had become quite adept at dealing with spirit matters, and Rangi was confident she could sort out the angry spirit in no time. However, as the day dragged on, Kyoshi didn’t arrive. Rangi grew more and more worried. Some of the prisoners had looked on the brink of death already, and the extra day without help would only lead to more. As the day drew to an end with no sign of Kyoshi, she decided to head back to the encampment to scout more, hoping to establish the best plan of attack by the time Kyoshi finally did arrive. However, she did stop by the market on her way out of town, stuffing her pack with as much food as it could hold. She had do something for the prisoners.</p><p>She made her way under the cover of the night back to the bandits’ encampment, taking up a position in the trees ringing the area. The bandits were more rowdy than usual, and had stolen a keg of some sort of spirits. Some men were brawling in the corner of the camp, but more worryingly, others were playing with the prisoners, especially the women, who were less able to defend themselves. Rangi’s hands sparked with flame as one man punched a female prisoner across the face, knocking her unconscious. She had never liked watching females stand defenseless as males took advantage of their lack of training, and couldn’t understand why more nations didn’t adopt the Fire Nation tradition of training both males and females in defense tactics. She stifled the flame quickly. Losing control of her abilities didn’t happen often, but it happened more than she wanted Kyoshi to know about. To lose control here wasn’t a good sign. She needed Kyoshi to get there, and quickly, before she went after the bandits by herself.</p><p>The night dragged on. As the fire died down, the men began to go to sleep, giving the prisoners a respite from the abuse. Rangi saw an opportunity and snuck down towards where the prisoners were chained together. The primary man tasked with watching them was passed out snoring on the ground. Rangi crept to a position close to one of the female prisoners and cautiously tapped her on the shoulder. The girl started, muffling a cry of surprise. Rangi tensed, but no guard stirred. The girl looked at her, terrified. “Don’t worry. I’m here to help. I brought food.” Rangi opened her pack and brought out some of the food she had bought in the village. The girl gasped, reaching for the food with a desperate hand.</p><p>To Rangi’s dismay, some of the other prisoners realized what was happening and moved to surround Rangi and the girl. They jostled each other for position, the scuffling sounding like firecrackers to Rangi. She thrust her arms out. “There’s some for everyone!” She had only whispered, but the force behind her words was enough to pause the prisoners’ desperate pushes. Rangi sighed with relief, the threat of discovery lessened.  She continued giving the food out as quickly as she could, making sure everyone had a piece. The prisoners’ desperation cut her to the bone. They had been simple villagers before these bandits had decided they could circumvent the Avatar’s watch.</p><p>Rangi’s rage grew. She and Kyoshi simply couldn’t keep watch everywhere. If this could happen in the Earth Kingdom, Kyoshi’s home, then what could go on in the other nations? She couldn’t stand the idea of things like this going on without their knowledge. An idea sparked in the back of her head. If she and Kyoshi could just have help, free from the influences of the nations, to watch over the rest of the world when they couldn’t, then the world would be so much better off. Rangi decided she and Kyoshi would make it a reality. She thought of the girl struck in the face. She would train women, teach them to defend themselves in the ways their nations wouldn’t, and turn them into warriors. Warriors that could help them keep an eye on the world, and help other people when they could not. Rangi’s resolve hardened as the girl she had first alerted crawled over to her from where she had been eating.</p><p>“I don’t know who you are or why you came to help us, but <em>thank you</em>. We had nearly lost all hope.”</p><p>Rangi smiled gently. “It’ll be alright. I’m here to get you out. Not yet – but when I get reinforcements soon. I’ll free you all.”</p><p>Tears ran down the girl’s face. “May the spirits bless-“ Her words were cut off abruptly as the ground erupted into a spike. The earth protruded through the girl’s stomach, blood pouring from the wound and from her mouth. Rangi recoiled, the sight eerily similar to her own injury those years ago.  The prisoners dissolved into chaos and cries of fear. Rangi whirled in shock to see the Earthbending leader of the bandits staring at her, surrounded by several men who looked decidedly more sober than their passed out counterparts. The leader smirked at her.</p><p>“Did you really think we didn’t notice you? Give us a little credit here. When all my prisoners suddenly stop weeping like children, I assume something is going on. I thought it would have taken longer for the village to send someone out here, so I’m not curious about that. What I’m curious about is that lovely little hairstyle you have.” The bandit smirked. Rangi’s hand shot to her head as she cursed herself inwardly. Her hair! She hadn’t taken down her topknot since it had been shorn by Jianzhu, and now it had jeopardized her mission. “Oh yes,” the bandit continued. “Firebenders and their ponytails. A symbol of honor, isn’t it? In our circles, we consider it a symbol of arrogance, and such it is here. Your arrogance has exposed you. More than you know.” Rangi tensed and automatically dropped into a fighting stance as the bandit stepped forward. “You see, <em>Rangi</em>, I know exactly who you are. I used to work for a man named Xu Ping An, and I was there when your merry band broke him out of prison. And I was there when your merry little band betrayed us and killed him in cold blood. I know who you are, and more importantly, I know you work with the Avatar Kyoshi herself. Quite a lot of us have been hampered by her methods, you know. We’ve found our usual activities somewhat constricted since she revealed herself. We waited for her to overextend herself so we could put an end to her reign, but she keeps herself protected so well. And so, a few other leaders and I decided to lure her out with some good, old fashioned kidnapping.”</p><p>Rangi’s heart hammered in her chest. They’d had it all wrong. It wasn’t a simple bandit operation. It was a trap. It had been so easy to find the camp. Too easy. She looked back at the leader. “You wanted us to think it was simple. And you wanted Kyoshi. But she isn’t here.”</p><p>He frowned. “No. Shame, too. I had brought so many people who wanted to say hello.” He motioned with his hand, and dozens of other men poured into the camp. “We’ve been waiting such a long time. Imagine our surprise when the Avatar failed to show up, but her companion did instead. No matter. We’ve caused quite some discomfort among these villages since we arrived here. She will come eventually. Perhaps even sooner if we send her a quick message about your whereabouts.”</p><p>Rangi smiled grimly. There was no way out of this. She knew that now. That didn’t mean she had to go quietly. She dug her feet into the ground, readying herself. Kyoshi would come for her, she wasn’t worried about that. She wanted to be ready when her Avatar did, so she’d sacrifice herself in this moment to gain the knowledge of the enemy they needed. She had to know what they were up against. The bandit leader smiled. He knew what she was going to do. He hadn’t expected an Avatar companion to go quietly. Rangi readied herself, taking a deep breath. She breathed in air. She breathed out pure fire.</p><p>The outburst of flame startled the bandit leader, but only for a moment. He threw up an earthen shield to block the white hot fire. Rangi spun round, generating fire from her roundabout kick and forcing the enclosing ring of men back. A second wave of earth rose towards her. Rangi leaped high in the air, jet stepping over it to land in front of the man who’d thrown it. To her dismay, it wasn’t the leader. <em>Another bender. Great. </em> She punched out a quick flurry of Fire Fists, turning the air into a blistering inferno that burned the man’s face, fully incapacitating him. She felt rather than saw another man closing in from her left and whirled to meet him, using his momentum against him to neatly trip him up.  So far, she was holding her own. A grizzled man sprang at her, whirling a mace around his head. Rangi caught the chain in midair and heated it, causing its owner to drop it with a scream. But there were too many men to fight. Rangi poured everything she had into her firebending, taking down as many as she could, but it wasn’t enough. Rangi felt a blow to her back and stumbled, leaving enough of a gap in her defense for an Earthbender to drop her into the ground, immobilizing her.</p><p>The bandit leader laughed in the distance. “Not bad, for a Firebender! No wonder the Avatar chose you as a companion.” He raised his hand, and the attacking men paused. Rangi struggled in  her restraints, held fast by the earth as the man stepped in front of her. “I don’t think you quite understand, though. I would never lure the Avatar into a trap with only a few Earthbenders. Here, I’ve gathered a host of likeminded characters from all over the world. Kyoshi has made life difficult for us lately, and I’m tickled to death that I can make her life a bit more difficult in return.” The man gestured to the bandits around them. “I found pirates from the South still smarting from Kyoshi’s first exploit as Avatar. I found disgraced bandits from the Earth Kingdom, angry that their leader had been unfairly murdered. I found members of the Saowon Clan, who were righteously infuriated that their clan had fallen so far from grace. I found all of them and brought them together to end the rule of the tyrant Avatar.”</p><p>Rangi nodded, unable to do much else in her earthen prison. “One thing you should know, though. Kyoshi is not a tyrant. She’s the best person I know. She doesn’t stand for people like you. She stands for the Four Nations, and keeps them safe from men who wish to throw the world into imbalance and break the peace she works so hard to maintain. The Avatar will come for me. She’ll come for you. And when she does, you’ll wish you had stayed in the muck you crawled out of.”</p><p>The bandit leader’s face hardened. “So be it, Firebender. You’ll make an excellent final bait. I had hoped I could finish this once and for all, but your arrival means I can hurt Kyoshi far worse in the future than I could have today. With you as a hostage, Kyoshi will be crippled. The world may know you as the Avatar’s companion, but I knew what you truly were to her when I watched Xu Ping An challenge her and heard your screams. She’ll have no choice but to surrender when she sees you. She won’t let you suffer.” Rangi’s heart sank. So much for never letting anyone else get to Kyoshi through her. She closed her fists as the bandit leader stepped back, letting her inner fire grow and grow until her rage melted the earth enclosing her. She leapt from her position, aiming for the leader, but he simply motioned for the men to resume their attack. As they closed in around her, she turned inward, focusing on Kyoshi’s face. She blasted fire in every direction, spinning under countless punches, water whips, and pillars of earth, until one finally slipped through her defenses and she couldn’t see Kyoshi anymore.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. and the only solution was to stand and fight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kyoshi saves the day, and her Firebender.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So much plot, and so much angst, and so much Kyoshi being a badass. sorry this took so long. hopefully the last chapter will be close behind. </p><p>Beta'd by the bestest, hegaveallhecouldgiveher.</p><p>title from Only if for a Night by Florence and the Machine.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kyoshi was annoyed. It had now been some days since Rangi had left for the Earth Kingdom, and she wasn’t used to spending so much time without her. Rangi had left for a scouting mission, and while normally Kyoshi would have been with her every step of the way, she had had to detour to the South Pole to take care of a spirit raging wild in the sea. Rangi would be fine, of course. Her glowing girl could handle herself well, and simple bandits shouldn’t be much of a threat. Jinpa had done his best to reassure her, reminding her of all these things, but Kyoshi still wasn’t convinced. Rangi meant more to her than anything, and she hated to be apart from her even for such a short time. Which gave her all the more motivation to wrap up the spirit as soon as possible.</p><p>It hadn’t been too difficult. With Kuruk’s guidance and Jinpa’s Air Nomad knowledge of spirit matters, she had quickly determined that the spirit wasn’t of a dark nature. Once she’d done a little digging around the South Pole, she’d discovered a group of enterprising merchants trying to catch fish in the spirit’s ancient home waters. After knocking some heads together and freezing the head of the main offender in his own water, she had secured full promises not to encroach on the spirit’s home again. With that in hand, she had communed with the spirit, Takken, and had convinced it to end its attacks on Water Tribe boats. She and Jinpa had left immediately for the Earth Kingdom, Kyoshi itching to get back to solid ground and to her Firebender.</p><p>They’d just reached the outer boundary of the Earth Kingdom when the hawk reached them. It held no kingdom’s symbol, but alighted on the saddle right in front of Kyoshi. She instantly knew its purpose. Kyoshi felt her heart leap into her throat as she pulled the scroll from the hawk’s back and read the brief but world-shattering message. <em>We have your companion. Tang-Shu Village. Come alone. </em>Everything stilled until all she could see were the words on the paper, and all she could hear was the sound of the blood throbbing in her ears. She knew her face was as white as her customary makeup.</p><p>Jinpa looked back from his position in the front of YingYong’s saddle. “Kyoshi? What is it?”</p><p>“It’s…Rangi.” Kyoshi could barely force the words out. She had never wanted Rangi to go alone, and now her worst fears had been realized. “The bandits have captured her somehow.”</p><p>Jinpa looked shocked. “How could that happen? It was just a scouting mission! She’s run hundreds of them. This should have been an easy one.” He slumped against the side of the saddle. “Kyoshi – I’m so sorry. I helped convince you to leave her on her own while we went to the South Pole. I didn’t think that some bandits would give her any issues.”</p><p>Kyoshi struggled to keep her voice calm. “I let her go. I let her go without me. This is my fault, and no one else’s. If anything happens to her – I’ll never forgive myself.” She clenched her fist, crumpling the letter in her anger. “I’ll fix this. I have to. When I’m done, no one will ever dare to get to me through her again. They’ll be too afraid of what I’ll do to anyone who dares to hurt someone I love.”</p><p>Jinpa nodded. “Let’s go get our girl.”</p><p>“No.” Kyoshi showed him the letter, creased from her hand. “I go alone. It’s better that way. You won’t like what I do to whoever wrote this. I’ll drop you outside the village. You can keep an eye on me from the sky if you wish. Do not interfere.” She knew she was being harsh, but she knew Jinpa would understand. The monk nodded, and Kyoshi moved to take command of YingYong’s reins. She snapped them lightly. “Yip-yip!” YingYong sensed her agitation and roared, flapping her tail to propel them faster, towards the heart of the Earth Kingdom. Kyoshi was going to find her glowing girl.</p><p>It was late afternoon when they reached the outskirts of the bandits’ chosen village. They had made good time, but Kyoshi wasn’t satisfied. Rangi was in danger of being hurt. If they had injured her- she shook her head. <em>Don’t think about that. Focus. </em>She left Jinpa and YingYong beyond the village walls, again ordering them to stay hidden, and strode into the village center alone. Villagers parted before her like she was a spirit herself. Kyoshi paid them no mind. Her face was stone under her blood red makeup as she took up a position below the statue adorning the central clearing. It didn’t take long for a man to approach her, surly and arrogant, swaggering up to her as if she wasn’t the all powerful Avatar Kyoshi.</p><p>“Look who it is. The great and terrible Kyoshi. Didn’t take long for you to show up, once we got your girlfriend.” The man spat on the ground. Kyoshi tensed, every muscle in her body desperate to pick the bandit off the ground and strike his head from his shoulders. It was only her fear for Rangi that held her back, and enabled her to simply stare at the man instead.</p><p>“I have come alone. As asked. Bring me to your camp. Now.”</p><p>The bandit laughed. “Not so fast, Avatar. We’ve heard of what you can do with those things.” He motioned to the fans in her belt. “Give them here. And try these on for size.” He dangled a pair of metal cuffs in front of her face.</p><p>Kyoshi kept her voice level. “And if I refuse?”</p><p>The bandit motioned, and dozens more men filed out from alleys surrounding the village square. “The boss mentioned you may want to challenge me. He said to tell you that your little Firebender’s flame will go out if you try anything, no matter how small.” He smirked. “You wouldn’t want that, would you?” He grabbed the fans out of Kyoshi’s belt. She made no move to stop him. For what she was planning, she didn’t need finesse. He snapped the cuffs on her hands and feet, leaving just enough room in the chains for her to walk. “Let’s go, Avatar. Not so scary now, are you?” He pushed Kyoshi forward. She stumbled, garnering jeers from the surrounding men. Her blood ran hot, but she managed to keep control. The rest of the men fell in behind them, and they made their way out of the town.</p><p>Kyoshi couldn’t believe it. Things had gone more wrong than she could ever have dreamed. These men weren’t simple bandits, that was for sure. Not many simple bandits could have taken out Rangi, or even discovered Rangi had been tracking them. Something wasn’t right with the group she was dealing with. She looked closer at the men flanking her. The familiar green eyes of the Earth Kingdom, but amber eyes too, so similar to her Firebender. <em>Fire Nation? Here?</em> And there – the unmistakable blue eyes of a Water Tribe national. This wasn’t a random group of bandits. This was coordinated. It had to be. Her heart sank. This wouldn’t be easy. Whoever had set them up had to be smart, and had to know more about her relationship with Rangi than most of the world. How else could he have known that the best way to incapacitate her would to be to capture the girl closest to her heart? Kyoshi shook her head. Whatever she had to do, whoever she had fight, she would do it.</p><p>They had been walking for thirty minutes when the group finally reached its encampment. The bandits hadn’t made much effort to disguise it, knowing that the villagers didn’t have enough Earthbenders to challenge them. They led her right into the middle of the camp, the man who had brought her giving her a shove forward until she stood alone. The remaining men filed in around her, encircling her. Kyoshi stood as tall as she could. They didn’t scare her. Her only concern was for Rangi. A tent to her left opened wide, and a small Earth Nation man stepped out of it. Kyoshi knew he was the ringleader immediately from the way all the other men stepped back and inclined their heads in a show of respect. She turned to face him. “So. Here I am. I will only ask this once. <em>Where is Rangi?”</em></p><p>Her tone didn’t even faze the man in front of her. He threw back his head and laughed, long and hard. “Oh, this feels good. The terrible Avatar Kyoshi, powerless.” He stepped closer, eyes dancing with malice. “You never should have sent her alone. What sort of an Avatar are you? What sort of a-“ He dropped his voice lower, putting a conspiratorial inflection into his words, “-<em>lover?” </em>Kyoshi felt the crackle of flames in her throat and bit down hard on her tongue to keep them at bay. She couldn’t risk her wrath coming to bear without knowing exactly where Rangi was. The bandit leader guessed what she had done and laughed again. “Not so fast, hm? You have no leverage here. I have it all. Have you figured out why you’re here?”</p><p>Kyoshi frowned. “No.”</p><p>“Allow me to enlighten you. I am Taejin, until fairly recently a high-ranking member of the Yellow Neck organization. I had just gotten my best friend and my hope back from an Earth Kingdom compound when you revealed yourself in all your Avatar glory and slaughtered him. We had so much planned, Kyoshi. So much! And just when things were going so well, you came along. I escaped that day, and I swore I’d repay you for the pain you caused me for killing Xu Ping An.” He paused. “Watching him die on that <em>lei tai</em> was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. He was like my brother. He meant the world to me, and together we were going to take over every bandit operation in the Earth Kingdom. No one would have been able to stand before us, until you came along.” He motioned, and two men broke the circle surrounding them, pushing forward a smaller figure with its head covered.</p><p>Kyoshi instinctively moved forward, only to stop dead when the two men raised blades. They kept their weapons close as they removed the covering off their captive’s head, and Kyoshi’s focus shifted to one thing and one thing only: Rangi’s face, her beautiful face, bruised and battered and bloody. Kyoshi’s heart dropped, her anger swelling inside her as she stared at Rangi. Her Firebender looked so…wrong. Rangi should be vibrant and glowing, but instead was bent over and shrunken in pain. Kyoshi’s world came to a halt as her Firebender raised her head and locked eyes with her.</p><p>“Kyoshi…I’m so sorry…” Rangi’s face crumpled. “I guess I’m not as good a scout as I thought, huh?” She tried to force a smile, but the pain of moving her mouth was too much, and she winced instead. Seeing her in so much pain almost made Kyoshi lose control right there, the voices in her head screaming to end each and every man who had had a part in hurting Rangi. However, she forced herself to keep control, instead turning to the man who had been behind it all.</p><p>“You already know what I did to Xu Ping An. I will do the same to you for hurting her.” She clenched her fists, earth rumbling behind her. Pillars of stone erupted near Rangi, forcing themselves into the two men surrounding her. Ignoring the scream of range from the bandit leader, Kyoshi surfed a wave of dirt to her Firebender, grabbing her by the waist and lifting her, spinning out and away from the tent and back into the middle of the encampment. She pushed Rangi behind her and dropped into a horse stance, grounding herself in her native element as the group of men closed in a ring around her.</p><p>Rangi struggled to her feet, standing as tall as she could at Kyoshi’s back. Kyoshi leaned back gently, pressing up against Rangi so she could finally feel the heat of her Firebender again. Their reunion didn’t last long, as the group’s leader stepped out from behind his men. “Not so fast, Avatar. You still need to answer for what you did to my sworn brother. Your little companion served her purpose well. You’re handicapped by her presence. She isn’t in fighting form.” He gestured to his men. “Attack the Firebender. Force the Avatar to protect her companion.” His face twisted into a snarl as he dropped into a horse stance of his own. “I’ve waited a long time for this fight, Kyoshi.”</p><p>Kyoshi felt Rangi stirring behind her. “Your horse stance is better than his.” Kyoshi smiled, the heat from her glowing girl giving her back the confidence she needed. She settled deeper into her stance as the men closed in, remembering happier days where the only thing she had to do with her stance was hold it while Rangi clambered over her. She gathered herself, delving deep into her spirit. These men had hurt Rangi.  They wanted to end her time as Avatar. It was time to show them why challenging this particular Avatar was a death sentence. Peace had never been an option here.</p><p> Kyoshi closed her eyes, letting the howling voices of her previous lives overtake and strengthen her. She opened them again, white light streaming from them, the full power of her Avatar state coming to bear. She sent a shockwave through the earth, the ground rippling in waves, bowling over the first line of attackers. A concentrated water whip cut through the dust, aiming at Rangi, who sent a weak fire blast in an attempt to block it that had no effect on the powerful jet. Kyoshi amplified the blast of flames with her own fire, turning it into a whirling inferno that engulfed the Waterbender who had sent the jet of water. From the right, three Earthbenders worked together to send a thicket of earthen spikes at the two of them. Kyoshi raised her arms, stopping all of the spikes right before they reached her, flipping them around and sending them right back at the trio. The spikes whipped past their defenses, embedding themselves in the men’s bodies. They collapsed to the ground with blood leaking from their wounds, and Kyoshi allowed herself a small smirk of satisfaction. She lost herself in the battle, focused solely on keeping Rangi safe. She defeated countless men, their ranks thinning and thinning until a Firebender attacked her viciously from the left while a Earthbender came at her from the right. She created fire from thin air, splitting the mass into two spurts of fire that hit the men squarely in their chests, but she had lost track of Rangi’s position for that brief moment. Seeing an opportunity, Taejin darted in, dodging the small fireball Rangi managed to throw at him and snatching her up, stumbling backward before whipping out a knife and holding it to her throat.</p><p>“Stop right there, Kyoshi.”</p><p>Kyoshi froze, the voices in her mind dying down and the light fading from her eyes as she crashed violently back to full control of herself again. “No!”</p><p>Taejin grinned maniacally, inching the blade closer to Rangi’s skin. “See how it feels, Avatar? To see someone you love in trouble? To see someone you love <em>die?” </em>He brought the knife right to Rangi’s throat, a small drop of blood trickling down her neck. Kyoshi’s vision narrowed to Rangi, and Rangi alone. The sight of her glowing girl, weak and helpless, so shockingly different from her normal strong and confident self, sent Kyoshi completely over the edge. She knelt on the ground, reaching out with her mind until she felt the water coursing through Taejin’s body. Atuat had told her, once, that the human body contained more than enough water to bend, if only one could sense it. Kyoshi had frozen someone’s lungs and heart, once. She had never believed herself capable of an act more cruel than that. But she had lost whatever inhibitions she still held as soon as that drop of blood had slowly traced its way down Rangi’s delicate throat.</p><p>Taejin had mistaken her kneeling as an act of submission. He laughed, keeping hold of Rangi. “So! Just as I thought. You’re handicapped by your little Firebender girl. You understand now, Avatar? How it feels? Now you’ll know how I felt when I watched my sworn brother die. My plans and dreams and family, lifeless on that platform.”</p><p>Kyoshi straightened, still on her knees, and reached out a hand. She kept her voice quiet, just loud enough to reach the two figures in front of her. “I do understand. More than you know. But what you don’t understand, is that this has happened before. I swore then that I would never let Rangi be hurt again by men like you, and I keep my word to her above all others.” She bent her wrist, and Taejin’s entire body shuddered. The knife fell from his hand as his arm spasmed, his head thrown back.</p><p>“What- what are you doing to me?” Taejin’s shock lacerated the air as he screamed, no longer in control of his own body. Rangi, released from his grip, crawled away from the thrashing man and back towards Kyoshi, reaching a safe spot behind her. Kyoshi focused on the water in Taejin’s body, pooling it into his lungs. The man choked, water filling his lungs, letting out a last desperate yell from the man who thought to challenge the Avatar. The remaining men in the camp stumbled back, turning on their heels and sprinting away from the girl kneeling on the ground, killing their leader without laying a finger on him. Kyoshi let them go. Their crazed stories would never be believed as fully true, but the fear they showed would inspire others to think twice before they challenged her again. Taejin’s cries slowed as Kyoshi drowned his lungs and deprived him of air, the choking sounds getting quieter and quieter before petering out completely. Kyoshi, drained of everything, let his body drop to the ground and collapsed. Just before she blacked out completely, she saw a bison spiralling down from the sky. <em>Jinpa. </em>She let herself slip away into unconsciousness. Rangi was safe.</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. and i heard your voice as clear as day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>aftermath - Kyoshi is sorry, Rangi is too, it's a angst/cute ending all round</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Plot is hard, guys! I hope the ending is satisfactory to you all. I have trouble writing, uh, romantic scenes so it's a little less fluffy than it could have been. </p><p>Title again from Only if For a Night by Florence and the Machine.</p><p>Once again beta'd by the champ hegaveallhecouldgiveher on Tumblr!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kyoshi woke to singing. It was so remarkably unexpected to wake up to that she came fully awake immediately, because the singing wasn’t soft or clear. Rather, it was low and raspy. It was Rangi. Her glowing girl was sitting in a chair near the bed Kyoshi found herself in. Rangi’s face was bruised and swollen, and her arm was in a sling, but she was there. She was okay. And she was singing, slow and sure, a quiet melody designed to soothe. Kyoshi sat up as quickly as she could, ignoring the rush of blood to her head. “What happened?”</p><p>Rangi looked up, breaking off her song. “Jinpa got us out. You scared them all off, but you were fully unconscious. I couldn’t carry you out myself. He got us both out, back to one of the villages. They were grateful for what we did, and let us stay. Gave us food and healing herbs. They want us out soon, though. Some of the men fled through here and terrified the villagers with their stories about what happened.”</p><p>“Rangi…” Kyoshi trailed off, not entirely sure what to say. <em>Sorry</em> seemed so inadequate. She was sorry for letting Rangi go alone, for misjudging the situation, for letting her be hurt so badly. She was sorry that Rangi had been hurt, again, by men trying to get to the Avatar. “It’s all my fault.”</p><p>Rangi didn’t say a word. She simply stared at Kyoshi, then rose from her chair. Kyoshi hated the wince of pain Rangi tried to hide but couldn’t quite completely mask. Rangi walked to the side of Kyoshi’s bed, standing over her. “Move over, you big oaf.” She prodded Kyoshi with her unhurt arm, and Kyoshi moved, all too grateful to have her FIrebender near again. Rangi gingerly lay down next to her and turned to face her, reaching over to stroke Kyoshi’s face. “I know what you’re thinking, Kyoshi. You don’t have to apologize.”</p><p>Kyoshi clasped Rangi’s hand in one of her own scarred ones. “Yes, I do. Look at you. You’re injured, and it’s because I didn’t go with you. I let you go alone, and you got captured by yet another criminal trying to punish me. It shouldn’t have happened. You told me once that it shouldn’t be this way for me. I am telling you now that it shouldn’t be this way for you.”</p><p>Rangi smiled gently. “I disagree. I took an oath long ago to serve the Avatar with my life long before you first showed me how you truly felt about me. Even though you don’t have to like it, I knew exactly what I was getting into. I studied, I trained, and I worked all my life to be the Avatar’s bodyguard. The best thing in the world to me is that I get to protect you and serve you. My Avatar. My giant girl. My love.” </p><p>Kyoshi shifted, shame still filling her. “But I don’t always get to protect <em>you</em>. I should be able to, at all times. I’m not content with what happened. I’ll never be content when you get hurt on my account because I wasn’t able to be there.” She stared at Rangi, taking in every bruise on her glowing girl’s face. She lifted her hand, feeling her energy extend out of her body to the small jug of water sitting on the table. She had always had trouble bending small amounts of the elements without her fans for control, but today, with Rangi lying beside her, Kyoshi knew it didn’t matter. She bent a stream of water from the jug, moving it through the air until it rested just above Rangi’s bruises. Kyoshi focused, and the water began to glow, knitting together Rangi’s skin and slowly fading the bruises. Rangi’s gasp of shock almost made Kyoshi lose her grasp on the water.</p><p>“How are you doing that without your fans?”</p><p>Kyoshi smiled as Rangi’s beautiful face slowly returned to normal. “Because… it’s you.” She returned the healing water to the jug and reached out to Rangi, enveloping her in her arms. “I love you so much, Rangi. You mean more to me than anything, and that’s why it’s so hard for me to accept that I can’t always be everywhere with you and that I can’t always protect you.”</p><p>Rangi’s expression changed, sadness crossing her face. “Healing isn’t the only thing you would do for me, is it?” Kyoshi stiffened. She knew what Rangi was referring to. Her Firebender stared at her, pain in her eyes. “Kyoshi…what did you even do to him?”</p><p>Kyoshi clenched her fist. “I told you that you mean more to me than anything. I would do anything to keep you safe. I did what I had to. When I saw you with the knife at your throat…I could barely move. I didn’t need the fans then either. I drowned him with the water contained in his own body, Rangi. He deserved it, for what he did to you.” She shuddered. “I never want to do it again. It felt so wrong, like I was controlling him. But I don’t regret it. He hurt you, Rangi. I will never sit by and watch that happen. Ever. You are my <em>world.</em>”</p><p>Rangi nodded. “And you are mine. I just hate that I had to put you in that position. That you had to go through that. That you weren’t able to protect me. You know, all we want to do is protect each other but sometimes we just can’t. But maybe…maybe we don’t always have to.”</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“Those villagers that Taejin kidnapped to lure us in, there were so many women who couldn’t protect themselves at all. It got me thinking. What if we had help? What if instead of it just being you, me, Jinpa, and the occasional opera troupe, it was a whole group of us? We could train them, Kyoshi!” Rangi sat up, her excitement spilling out of her. “We could find women who don’t really have anything, just like you when you were little. We could bring them here, and train them into warriors who could help us monitor the nations. That way it wouldn’t just be us. And we’d be helping them learn to take care of themselves!”</p><p>Kyoshi sat up beside Rangi. She hadn’t considered sharing her Avatar duties outside of her little circle before, but that would solve many of the problems that frustrated her so much. She wouldn’t have to exhaust herself keeping watch over every nation, all the time. She wouldn’t have to let Rangi go alone if there were multiple disturbances at the same time. It could work. They would make it work. “That’s…a fantastic idea!” She put her arm around Rangi’s shoulders and leaned her head against her Firebender’s. Rangi hummed, filling Kyoshi with her warmth. “We can train them together. You and me. I can teach them how to run people over, and you can teach them how to actually defend themselves.”</p><p>Rangi laughed, a low, harsh sound that Kyoshi never got tired of hearing. Kyoshi lay back on the bed, pulling Rangi back down with her, trying not to jostle her injured arm. Rangi rested her head on Kyoshi’s chest, continuing her low, contented hum. Kyoshi hated the circumstances that had brought her here, but she was eternally grateful for the moment of calm, with Rangi, that it had granted her. As a small child, she had been desperate to find a home. Here with Rangi, she had finally found one.  </p><p>The peaceful moment didn’t last long, however. The door to the room blew open and Jinpa stormed into the room, an angry expression on his face running counter to the supposed tranquility of an Air Nation monk. “Kyoshi! You absolute moron. You left me outside that village and went and pulled that stunt out of thin air? Are you insane? I could have helped! Instead you decided to go in all by yourself, and look what happened. I had to drag you out of that camp, while carrying Rangi on my back!”</p><p>Rangi sniffed from her place beside Kyoshi. “It was hardly carrying. I walked most of the way. But you did do an amazing job dragging this oaf of an Avatar all that way. She never should have left you.”</p><p>Kyoshi threw up her hands in mock despair. “I wasn’t thinking straight! All I knew was I had to go rescue Rangi and I was prepared to do anything to do it. Things that an Air Nomad shouldn’t support or assist with!”</p><p>Jinpa ignored her. “Oh, good for you. Sparing me from the horror. Why do I even work for you again? If you’re just going to refuse help every time it’s offered?” Kyoshi knew the monk wasn’t being fully serious, but that he was truly concerned. She extended an olive branch.</p><p>“Rangi and I were talking, and we want to amend that. She suggested we try to find women throughout the nations, bring them together, and train them to be warriors. They can stay with us and help us maintain the peace, or they can return to their homes, able to defend and take care of themselves. I never want to go through what I did the last few days again. I never want Rangi to go through what she did the last few days again. I think that she’s come up with a good way to do that.”</p><p>Jinpa nodded. “As usual, Rangi is the better half once again. I like it. We’ll start the search as soon as possible. I don’t want to go through that again either. I love the both of you too much for that. The Kyoshi Warriors will be a force to be reckoned with by the time we’re done training them.” He turned, much calmer than he had been when he first entered the room. “If you both are up to it, I’ll go ready YingYong so we can return to Yokoya and get all this started.”</p><p>Kyoshi nodded. “Jinpa. Thank you.”</p><p>The monk smiled. “You’re welcome. But you haven’t heard the last of this.” He left the room, closing the door behind him.</p><p>Kyoshi settled back down, gathering her strength, still slightly weak from the energy drain from the fight. Rangi wrapped an arm around her, nuzzling her head into the crook of Kyoshi’s neck and shoulder. “Jinpa is right, you know. You do refuse help a lot. Bringing in others will be good for you. It doesn’t always have to be just you, my giant girl.” Kyoshi smiled, shifting carefully to face Rangi again.</p><p>“I know. We’re going to fix that. When it comes to you, though, I reserve the right to have it be all me. And only me.” She kissed her Firebender lightly, careful of the slight bruising that had escaped her healing water. Rangi responded by kissing her back, deepening the kiss until they were both lost in the warmth the other generated.  They were going to be alright. They were going to heal, and they were going to figure out a way to make sure that what had happened here would never happen again.</p>
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